Moon

While dropping off Hoban and Ansam with Bernard, Setsuna Zihark attempted to recover some information from the White Lotus Academy under the cover of night. Unfortunately, he was caught, and captured. The attempts to free him from the grasps of the law were futile. The party eventually left for Esfrem without him. He did however, end up striking a deal with the head of the White Lotus Academy. He was allowed to leave, but were contracted to find Ellaria and as an insurance policy placed a scrying ritual on him so that his progress could be monitored.

After celebrating Fey Day in Flouren, the party made their way to Silinne. Just outside town, the party was nearly accosted by a vagrant man, who was yelling in a graveyard. The party mostly ignored him, but Corylus insisted on engaging him. He quickly fled the scene but not before placing a small amount of ratty dead flowers on the graves of Emrys and Sehlam Reynolds. Upon arriving, the party split to gain more information about their surroundings. One by one, the party was assaulted and poisoned. The players were poisoned which knocked them out. Little did the party know, that mixed with the Drow poison was the Skooma of their crime boss, Enthos Tormod. Those of divine power attempted to fool their captures, but they were suffering from the onset of Skooma hallucinations. Two days elapsed while the party was continually injected with Skooma to keep them in a stupor while the Tormod family gathered information about their prisoners.

When the party “awoke” the found themselves in a Skooma processing plant, some of which was real, some of which was a hallucination. During some of these fights, the party was accidentally pricked by a raw Skooma plant or deliberately snorted or ingested some of the raw dried powder. As the party made their way through the hideout, they came across a Dwarf artificer named Hoban who was severely addicted to Skooma. After a quick and decisive battle which rendered Hoban unconscious. He was soon awoken and questioned. However, he was able to offer up little valuable information.

When the party came to a small room, they noticed an unusual thing. A barrier with an unresponsive clerk who was too busy tallying accounts to even look up at the players. Zihark even attacked the man, but his blade passed through the mans head as through it was not there. When Emrys came into the office, he looked up, and the party saw that he had no face. This faceless abomination the spoke, presumably by telepathy, to the party. He introduced himself as Enthos Tormod, and began to explain that the party had been hallucinating a great deal of the event that had transpired, and they were beginning to realized it. Enthos then began a diatribe about Emrys’ life and specifically mentioned his father, Ansam Reynolds, who turns out to be the vagrant man from the graveyard earlier. Ansam and Enthos were old adventuring buddies, until Enthos wanted more power and made a pact with Asmodeus. At the climax of his speech he summoned to his aid many devils and he himself transformed into a huge devil of Asmodeus.

The party, weary from their previous battles, fought to their last dying breath. Thanks to some clever tactics, the party succeed in vanquishing this foe. At which point the party nearly collapsed where they stood for an extended rest. In the cave, there were several treasures, both items and people. Ansam and Hoban, hopelessly addicted to Skooma soon had fellow junkies, as some party members felt urges to use Skooma. After purchasing a wagon and two horses Booger and Mae, and decided to head back to Orange Grove.

Young, dutiful adventures traveled from the office of the Exemplar Michael Raymare toward Flouren from Alustrun with precious cargo. On their way, they cross the Genova River. Here high above the river the party eyes a lean Goliath woman. She towers above a fresh grizzly bear corpse. As some of the party is crossing the river via rope bridge, the river itself seems to grasp the bear corpse and spawns an elemental which attacks the party. After successfully subduing the creature, the party continues to Flouren.

In Flouren, the party delivers the ceremonial sword to King Raymare. He accepts it, but timidly. He tells the party that there have been nightly attacks on his city and believes that it has something to do with the Tomb of his ancestors. He, trusting in the note his father wrote to him, has asked the party to quietly investigate the occurrences around town. The party chose to investigate the tomb first, arriving there at dawn, hoping to catch the vampires at their weakest. They arrived to find an empty tomb. The tomb did show signs of tampering, especially with Bradley Raymare’s portrait and statue.

While investigating the tomb, a group of vampires returned to the tomb after the nightly raid. The party was caught off guard and the party was split. Half the party stayed above ground to fend of the vampire group, while half the party journeyed forth into the mysterious handmade tunnel into Bradley Raymare’s grave.

The tunnel lead into a natural cave filled with strange luminous fungi. The party eventually picks up on the murmurs and whisperings within the cave. “The foul one has returned! Shall we attack? What shall we do master?” repeated over and over echoing throughout the cave walls. Until finally the whispers were answered with a telepathically communicated “Yes.”

The subterranean area was quickly filled with Myconid warriors and Shaman. The Myconid fungi proved formidable warriors and their toxic spores proved quite effective. It took a great deal of group cooperation to survive the encounter.

When the last of the Myconids was slain, the fungi in the cave contracted and browned, revealing several magic items that the Myconids must have taken off of other slain adventures. Also revealed was another passageway.

Pelor 2-5. (You will begin the next session on the morning of the 5th.)

Before leaving Orange Grove, Bernard and others gifted the party with useful items that will hopefully aid them in their quest. A blessing was placed upon the party.

En route to Alustun the party engaged a group of bandits who were attacking an elf family. After rescuing the Sendran Family, who are merchants transporting yams to Alustun. The party later escorts them to the gate with their safety at top priority.

At the city gate a pair of disgruntled and corrupt guards request outrageous fees to enter the city limits. The party manages to cut through the guards not with blades but with diplomacy. Once through the gate the party bid farewell to the Sendran’s and to the Moonlight Mistrals.

It wasn’t long before the party encountered a mob of angry people lead by a young human woman. She had stirred the crowd to violent action against the Exemplars. The party rose to defend the helpless Exemplars, most of whom were ungrateful for the actions of the party, save for two. The first was the Exemplar of Esfrem, who was most concerned with the commerce of Esfrem. The other Exemplar was Michael Raymare, the Exemplar of Flouren. His son, Kevin Raymare, is the King of Flouren.

After the mob was subdued, the party split to discuss matters further with the people involved. Some interrogated the people in the town square and inquired about the crisis. Most of the complaints were trival, the action of the mob were caused by a decaying economic environment coupled with the Moon Crisis, they moved out of fear, anger and helplessness.

Those that met with Michael Raymare were tasked with delivering a ceremonial sword to Flouren, and paid well to do it.

Durem and Corylus at the Alustrun Public Library discovered information about the moon crisis. Corylus found a book by a man named Calvin, in which a similar crisis mentioned, but not in great detail. This book was also checked out by a one “K. Raymare” who is believed to be Kevin Raymare the King of Flouren.

While resting that night at the Inn, each traveler still unsure of their companions and sleeping in separate rooms, were confronted by vampire assassins in the middle of the night. Hildor, who had been holding onto the sword, was the focus of the attack. The remaining party members managed to save him from near death, and drive off their assailants. The sword switched over to Setsuna’s care, holding it within his functional glove of holding.

A mysterious and deadly fire genesi brutally attacked the festival and its patrons were soon thereafter moved to attack the temple, and its inhabitants. Bernard and others were spared from a grim doom by a group of people who barely escaped alive themselves! How noble this unnamed cadre was!

After the villainous Genesi disappeared, the Moons changed. Two moons collided, one has broken into three pieces, and the other bears a strange mark in the shape of a squared spiral. This spiral appears to be burned into the surface of the moon.